28 Days to Live
by tetsuia
Summary: While SEES struggles to make their decision to forget or fight against mankind's downfall, Ryoji comes to realize that his short life will end within 28 days. With that in mind, Ryoji decides that if he was going to die, he would live first.
1. Prologue

28 Days To Live

Ryoji Mochizuki – main character.

A/N: The premise of 28 Days is post-Moonlight Bridge after 12/2/08 where Ryoji's true nature is revealed. This story is one where I'm going to release a chapter per day till December 31st. I doubt I'll be able to make that goal though. .

Oh well. Onward. I hope you enjoy reading and hopefully will grace me with a review.

--

_SEES Lounge - December 3__rd__, 2008_

"You have until December 31st, New Year's Eve, to think about it…"

Ryoji's blue eyes scanned the entire room, the inhabitants still in shock about what they just heard. Some of them were still in shock about what they just heard.

He…wanted them to stop looking so sad…fearful. He wanted them to kill him so that their suffering would end. These were his friends…and his family. He didn't want them to suffer…and yet…he didn't want to snuff out the embers of defiance that burned through all of them, their determination to see the journey's end.

It was why he gave them all the end of the month to decide…because if they all made a decision right now, they would allow him to live...and will regret it till the Fated day.

He had to leave, so they could at least make the decision without them seeing him every day…doing human-y things.

"I will disappear with the coming of Nyx anyways…so don't worry about me…"

He tried to give a reassuring smile to the rest of them, but he couldn't bring that emotion to his lips. Before, he believed that he, like the rest of them, had all the time in the world, but he now knew that he wouldn't last till New Years. He already could feel the sands of time ticking, his essence being pulled towards the top of Tartarus to fulfill his duty as executioner of the world.

Struggling to keep the emotion out of his voice, he said his parting words.

"I'll be back on New Year's Eve…"

Going out of the door and shutting it behind him, he heard Junpei's voice ring through.

"H-hey, Ryoji, wait!"

A tear fell from Ryoji's eye before darkness took him away.


	2. Start of the Journey

A/N: And here is the actual chapter 1. ^^ Enjoy.

_Gekkoukhan High School – December 3__rd__ 2010_

Ryoji found himself back at the school after his disappearance to find all the light suddenly vanish from the area. Green hue suddenly stuck everywhere as the school suddenly changed.

Ryoji watched the spectacle of Tartarus rising to its full glory for the first time and suddenly knew that this was his home. Not his human one, a penthouse near Shirakawa boulevard, but where he will be staying for the rest of his days.

Dejectedly looking in the direction of his old home, he sighed as he watched the gates of Tartarus slowly open inwards… to accept the king that'll revive its queen. He dragged his feet forward to the entryway.

"Well…time to accept…fate." He took a step forward and crossed the boundary between reality and hell only to be surprised by an invisible wall in front of him, surprise that was cut short by the once-inviting gates suddenly crashing towards Ryoji.

The last thought he had before he crashed into the ground was profound.

'_Wait…what?'_

Thud.

---

_??? – December 3, 2010 - Dark Hour_

The first thing he noticed when he came to was a rather attractive grey-haired girl wearing purple in a rather violet room. The second thing he noticed was that the bottom of the girl's dress was rather high, exposing a nice bit of thigh.

"Welcome back to the Velvet Room."

Ryoji turned his head from the attractive girl to the rather hideous short man with an abnormally long nose…and frowned, "Back?" He stood straighter in the chair he was in, "I've never been here before, Igor."

The man with the long nose grinned menacingly, "Of course you have, or else how would you know my name without me ever saying it?"

Ryoji found his mouth dropping which elicited a giggle from a corner, a giggle that came from the girl whom he immediately knew was Elizabeth. Blue eyes shifted from the purple-claded girl to the creepy man before he asked, "How?"

"You've been here before, Mochizuki-san…or should I say Pharos?" Igor replied.

"That doesn't answer anything at all."

"I seem to recall a favor you did for us in exchange for your freedom." Igor waved his hand in front of the table, and a folder with the word 'Contract' appeared on the table complete with the signature of Minato Arisato. "You brought us our extraordinary guest."

An awkward pause arose in the room as Ryoji recalled those memories from so long ago of him, as a child, giving that damned contract to Minato. That contract was the start of it all, both the beginning and the end for them.

"I…do remember giving him that, but I still don't remember either of you." Ryoji replied.

"The knowledge will come in time. However, a more pressing issue is at hand. You have appeared in this room once again. You are searching for something once more."

"I am?"

"All those who come to the Velvet Room come in search for the answer…and find it at journey's end."

Ryoji suddenly stood up with his hands on the table, his eyes wide.

"Wait, does that mean I don't have to die? Or the rest of the world?"

"Your end cannot be averted. I am sorry for giving you false hope, Mochizuki-san."

"But I'm here, and that's definitely what I'm looking for." Ryoji glared at Igor.

"The conclusion of your answer will be your end. That is for certain. Your borrowed humanity will lead you to your path. And that is all I can tell you. It'll be best if you came here of your own volition next time."

The room started to fade away from his vision as well as his consciousness, but he could hear the sound of a door opening and Igor's voice.

"Ahh, our esteemed guest, you have come here in that inconvenient way again?"

A very familiar voice replied.

"How does one… choose the manner of their own death?"

---

_Gekkoukhan High School – 12:00 am -December 4__th__ 2010_

"Minato?!"

Ryoji blinked once and then twice, the school in front of his eyes, and then he held the back of his head with a painful grimace. There was a definite bump on the back of his head from where he fell.

Lying back on the ground, he noticed that the Dark Hour seemed to have passed. The stars and the moon returned to twinkling white. He was tempted to just lie there and…sleep, but something just had to interrupt.

"Hey! What are you doing here?" A flashlight suddenly flew into his eyes which immediately prompted Ryoji to suddenly stand and stare at the man in front of him.

What does one do when they're caught by a guard?

"Sorry! Gotta go!" Ryoji called out as he made a mad dash for the gate.

"Get back here!"


	3. Crazy Men and Drunk Women

Chapitre Deux.

A/N: BestFanofAnime, thanks for your review. :D. I pretty much created this story because of Fuuka's comment later in the game about how 'they were thinking about killing a person who was alone at Christmas.'

---

December 4th 2010 – Shirakawa Boulevard- Friday

Eyes fluttered open to look at the ceiling fan spinning overhead. Ryoji simply lied on his bed for a while, watching it spin over and over again.

He wanted to believe that everything before yesterday was just a dream, that he was merely an ordinary teenager going to school, but the truth dwelled inside him.

In that moment, Ryoji had an epiphany.

"I hate December," he grumbled as he slowly opened the blinds to his apartment in the seediest location in the Port Island Area, wincing painfully at the winter sun that was overhead. He sighed as he stared at the girls outside his window, propping his head onto the windowsill.

December, quite frankly, sucked. It was cold. The trains failed to run on time. And the girls weren't half naked. He sighed as he watched another ugly girl in a fur coat walk by the near-deserted streets. A hand closed the blinds shut while he slowly made his way to the dresser. He wanted to get out of his lonely apartment.

He wanted to have fun.

---

December 4th 2010 – Paulownia Mall- Afternoon

Thwack.

He couldn't go to the school to hang out with Junpei and the others.

Thwack.

He couldn't go outside of Port Island because of the weird pull that Tartarus has on him.

Thwack.

What the hell was he going to do for twenty-eight days?

"Easy, boy. You're going to break the machine if you're hitting it so hard."

Ryoji turned his head away from the moles popping their heads up and down to stare at a businessman in a suit. The thing that disturbed him was his black faux-looking hair. It was real, but it looked like it was piled up with so much glossy gel that made it look like plastic.

"Why would you care?" he frowned as he directed his attention back to the Whack-a-Mole game, taking his semi-wooden mallet onto the poor moles' heads.

"Do you know who I am?" the man questioned.

"…"

Thwack.

Thwack.

A visible twitch in the man's head appeared as he announced himself, "I'm President Tanaka, business entrepreneur, and you should be honored to meet me."

Thwack.

"Stop playing! I'm about to make you a deal of a lifetime."

The words made Ryoji pause for a moment. Was this what he was searching for?

"Good. I see you're pretty good at these sorts of games. I can make you a spokesperson for a gaming company…"

Ryoji waited for the catch.

"All for the paltry sum of ten thousand yen!"

"No thanks."

The man twitched again before the game store owner started calling for the man's name, leaving Ryoji to his game…which suddenly yelled game over and had 'Top Score' pop up on the cheap screen.

Staring at his score of almost one million, Ryoji gaped at the fact that his score was a hundred times more than the second highest score. Turning around and looking at the clock, he paled with the realization that he played for six straight hours. What a waste of a day…

"Hey, kid. Shouldn't you be in school or something? You're wearing the same insignia like another kid I know there," said Tanaka.

"Who?"

"Ahh…I don't give the names of my clients. Bad for business…though I could be persuaded."

Ryoji gritted his teeth in frustration before straining to say, "No thanks….I have to go."

"Listen, kid. You should stop disrespecting your betters or else you might end up in trouble…let's say with your school for not going to class?"

He didn't need this today. He came here to have a relaxing time, not to have this jerk compound his problems even more. He felt a phantom pain on his foot from when Yukari stomped it when he asked whether she wanted to accompany him to Shirakawa Boulevard.

Ryoji looked away at his foot towards the smug look on "President" Tanaka's face and grinned.

Sharing was caring, after all.

---

A yelp could be heard from Game Panic as the store's door suddenly swung open as Ryoji ran off with yellow scarf in tow, followed by a hopping Tanaka who apparently was struggling hard to not yell profanity all over the place.

Ryoji's mirthful laughter could be heard throughout the mall, almost carefree as he ran out towards the doors, hopefully to escape the angry man behind him.

---

December 4th 2008 – Port Island Station- Evening

Losing the crazy man wasn't actually too hard. All he had to do was go to Port Island Station and go back and forth to Iwatodai for some time. The legitimacy of the man's claim of being a 'president' got worse and worse since no president of a company would possibly waste his time trying to chase a kid like him.

Honestly, he wasted a day? That man wasted three hours just trying to look for a person who caused him pain that probably didn't last an hour or more. He frowned at the thought though.

Regardless of that status, that man could afford to waste time unlike himself who was just waiting to the end, dreading it…always thinking about it. It was these kinds of thoughts that made him sympathetic to his friends who were in a similar situation. Sighing, he reentered Paulownia Mall with a sigh, eyes staring at the fountain with mild disinterest.

"Mochizuki-kun? I thought you -hic- went going overseas already." A familiar female voice called out.

He turned around, dreading what he knew what was coming.

"Errrr…Toriumi-sensei…ha ha…I can exp-"

Wait a second. He was overseas? How did that happen? Mitsuru?

"Shouldn't you be getting ready to leave with your parents?" the teacher asked with an odd flush on her face. The source of the redness was obvious; her breath smelled lightly of alcohol. Heh heh, a drunk teacher. She didn't look too bad either…

He ended that thought abruptly; older women wasn't his thing. It was Kenji's.

"Mochizuki-kun, kindly stop ignoring me. It's impolite." Toriumi commented sternly.

"I wasn't ignoring you! I was listening!" Ryoji instinctually replied. He was listening…somewhat.

The woman closed her eyes and sighed, saying, "What's wrong? You're acting off."

"I was listening. I heard you tal- wait, what did you say?"

"Hic…Unlike SOB-san, I do pay attention to my students," she said, "Hic…don't tell people I said that."

"Heh heh, I won't," Ryoji smiled. "Who's S.O.B-san?"

"Eko-ha ha! You're not getting that out of me. Ha ha!" the teacher replied and then leaned back on the bench. "Even if you're not my student anymore, I'm not set –hic- myself up for more trouble."

Ryoji's grin widened as he said, "I agree. Ekoda-san is an S.O.B."

The teacher laughed hysterically. In fact, it was starting to get worrisome. Looking at his teacher like this wasn't exactly the most pleasant thing in the world. They were supposed to be mature and wise, not chummy. Seeing the strict Toriumi-sensei like this was rather unnerving.

"Why are you drunk in the first place?" he asked…and received an empty beer can to the head for that. It wasn't thrown that hard, more like a light tap.

"I'm not druuunk. –hic-," she replied, "I'm waiting for someone today, and I need the stress relief."

"Stress relief?"

"Honestly, -hic-, teaching all of you kids is sometimes a horror especially during the holidays…a lot of you sleep in class, some students are too taken with –hic- other students to actually pay attention," her eyes bore into Ryoji with that comment, "and other students goof off by firing rubber bands when my back is turned."

She grumbled as she clenched her fist, eyes gaining an odd malevolent fire, "I'll find them…and when I do…"

Ryoji coughed, "Errr….I can't help that people stare at me…heh heh." The mischevious narcissistic side of him said that he could if he wasn't so handsome. The other, more sensible, side of him told him not to voice that out since that would probably lead to verbal abuse.

"Anyways, I'm here –hic- on a bench away from the central part of the mall to deal with a jerk I've met a couple weeks ago."

"Jerk?"

"There's another S.O.B. that comes here every Friday to cheat students out of their money. –hic- He tried to sweet-talk me into becoming a..-hic- supermodel."

Ryoji paused and blinked. That description sounded familiar. "Uhh…does he have super-shiny hair and wear a blue suit?"

"Actually, yes, he does. He was supposed to be –hic- here an hour ago… I'm..going…to…"

"Going to what?" He blinked as Toriumi trailed off and slouched down on the bench.

"zzzzz"

A sweatdrop appeared on Ryoji's head as his former homeroom teacher suddenly passed out on the bench. Unknown to him, she did the same exact thing another time before which lead her to meeting said S.O.B.

He yawned and rubbed his eyes.

"Maybe…I shouldn't have stayed out so late yesterday," he complained to himself before sighing again.

Taking one last look at his former and only teacher, he slowly left the mall again.

He didn't really want to meet that man again anyways. That maniacal look in his eyes was scary as well as his rants about sending Ryoji's photo to ex-convict dating sites.


	4. Pick a Slip, Any Slip

A/N: Finals Week. I will probably not be posting any more during this week due to Finals. However, I will try to catch up with the backlog. Thank you for your patience and I hope you enjoy this chapter. ^^

Thank you for your reviews, BestFanofAnime and Alexander the Indiscriminate

**Iwatodai Station – December 5****th**** 2008 – 2:00 am**

---

"Boy, wake up."

Something prodded into his back.

"Toriumi-sensei, I'm not…sleeping…just closing…eyes."

"Boy, wake up."

Something prodded into his back again.

"zzzz"

"If you don't wake up in five seconds, I'll arrest you for trespassing and I'll make sure you spend Christmas in a jail cell," a stern voice called out.

"What?!" Ryoji yelled, shifting his head and right. He quickly realized he was in a train, the train to Port Island Station, and there was an officer-looking person right in front of him.

"Finally. It's already 2:00 am. The train is closed," the man said. His stern face seemed exhausted, but his hands with the nightstick seem abnormally vigorous with the end tapping his palm.

Ryoji yawned before turning his head to the man, asking, "Where are we?"

"You're at Iwatodai Station. Kid like you shouldn't be here this late."

He blinked and asked curiously, "Why?"

The man rose an eyebrow and brought his hand into his palm, "Cause seedy people run around at this time at night."

"Like you?" Ryoji, at least, had the grace to cover his mouth.

The officer gave a grin and said, "Exactly. Like me." The man slapped the palm of his own hand with the nightstick for good measure, causing Ryoji to flinch at the sound. The man's eyes turned thoughtful.

"Though it's probably Port Island Station that's more dangerous at night though…and with this Apathy Syndrome going around…" the man paused before looking at Ryoji, "Anyways, it's getting late, and I'm getting off my shift. I'll give you a ride back if you want."

Raising an eyebrow, Ryoji asked, "Wait a second, can I, at least, see your badge?"

"Paranoid, aren't you? But stupid enough to sleep in a train station," the officer commented before taking out his badge which read 'Officer Kurosawa.' He rolled his eyes as Ryoji scrutinized it, saying, "Are you happy yet?"

Ryoji sighed, saying, "Yeah, I am. Sure it wouldn't be any trouble?"

"Pfft, can't send a kid like you home on your own. Not good for my conscience," he replied.

Petulantly, Ryoji replied with a mumble, "I'm not a kid."

Snorting, Kurosawa slowly walked out of the train doors with Ryoji in tow.

"Where do you live anyway?"

"Shirakawa Boulevard…"

---

"You just had to live in the seediest part of Iwatodai, did you?"

"Yes!"

"Ugh, your parents must be insane letting a kid like you stay there. How the hell are your parents so rich and yet you're living in somewhere like this?"

Ryoji paused as his hand slowly moved to the penthouse doorknob. Where the hell did his money come from? He obviously didn't have parents, and yet he was able to live in splendor, albeit in Shirakawa, and still spend ridiculous amounts of money in restaurants and pleasing girls.

Officer Kurosawa coughed several times.

"Oh…sorry….err..I guess my parents want to teach me character?"

A snort came from the officer before he mumbled, "Some parents…"

"Good night, Kurosawa-san."

"Hmmph. Good night, next time, don't sleep on the train."

Ryoji watched the man leave via police cruiser before coming inside to his lonely penthouse. He was tired and exhausted. Maybe he'll find something interesting to do…after his nap.

---

"_A machine is built for a purpose. Mine is to defeat you…"_

_A green moon illuminated the Moonlight Bridge, illuminated the pair standing. Suddenly, the goddess of victory came into existence, plunging straight towards him, but…_

_He knew._

_She knew._

_It knew._

_They didn't stand a chance. They couldn't kill him, and yet they fruitlessly try. Even with his hands indisposed, they couldn't harm him in any way. Nothing could harm him. _

_He was a god…no…_

_A demon in human form._

_---_

**December 6****th**** – 10:00 a.m. – Penthouse at Shirakawa Boulevard**

The alarm started sounding again, stirring Ryoji awake. Looking at the clock incredulously, he wanted to pass out, but habit prevented him from doing such. Getting yelled at by Toriumi-sensei early in the morning was a poor way to start the day, so… awake he went.

Grumbling in annoyance, he prepared to go to the shrine. That dream left him somewhat off. He needed some sort of guidance on what to do. Igor said he could do something and that something would be his path, but he still had no idea on what this path was. Maybe he'll get lucky and find something there.

**December 6****th****- 12:00 p.m. – Shrine**

"**TERRIBLE LUCK**," said the piece of paper that Ryoji picked out. A sweatdrop appeared on his head as he read the tiny piece of paper over again before he crumpled and threw the paper off into the trees.

"It's not like those things work anyway," he mumbled before walking towards the benches where a nearby playground was. Watching the slide and the merry-go-round left him feeling somewhat nostalgic. He could remember playing on those when he was six, spinning round and round fast…with a faint silhouette of his parents spinning him faster. The memories weren't real though…but it made him happy inside.

Eyes shiftily looked left and right before looking at the merry-go-round. The playground was deserted, everyone was still at school…why not? A smile lit his lips when he started running over to the merry-go-round, turning it faster and faster…before going on himself. The audacity of a sixteen-year old riding around a preschool toy was not lost on him, and he laughed at himself for that. It was certainly fun. It was certainly fulfilling, and he didn't care too much about the world for the moment.

---

An hour passed with him re-exploring a lost childhood within a deserted playground, but the peace didn't last long. In fact, it shattered by a little girl's voice just as Ryoji was climbing the ladder of the slide.

"You know…older people don't normally play in the playground."

Ryoji froze at the sound of a female voice. The 'player' in him just wanted to deny, deny, deny or make up some sort of excuse to defend himself from scrutiny. However, that emotion died away when he realized that the girl wasn't his type.

Elementary school girls, like older women, were definitely not his type.

He smiled with amusement at the brown-haired girl before saying, "Old people play when they think younger people aren't looking," before sliding down.

"Oh. That makes sense," she said thoughtfully before saying enthusiastically, "Do you want to play with me?"

…

"Errr…." he said.

"Pleeeaaseeeee…." the little girl pleaded.

Oh no. She was giving him the puppy dog eyes. No. No. No. No.

"Fine…" Ryoji sighed yet the girl didn't notice his exasperation.

"Yaay! My mom told me not to talk to strangers, but if I know your name, we're not strangers anymore. I'll go first! I'm Maiko."

"…Ryoji," he said before he was suddenly pulled towards the merry-go-round by the little girl.

"Yay, let's play!" she cheerfully said as she went on the contraption.

Ryoji just stood, looking dumbfounded.

"Come on! Spin!"

Ryoji slowly started pulling on the merry-go-round.

"Like this?"

"Faster! Faster!"

Pulling on the merry-go-round as he ran, Ryoji was rewarded with a happy smile on Maiko's face. Stopping to just watch her spin around, he suddenly felt a large pull on his neck and toppled over from the force.

"Aaack…"

"Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

His precious yellow scarf had gotten caught on the bar and dragged him along for the ride, the back of his clothes rubbing into the dirt. With the added weight though, the merry-go-round soon stopped though.

"Yay! That was fun! Let's do it again!" Maiko exclaimed before staring at Ryoji again, "Umm…why are you on the ground?"

The image of his fortune came into Ryoji's head, but he replied with a "Not sure why…"

The sound of his stomach growling was oddly 'louder' than the throbbing in his neck.

"I didn't eat lunch either, Ryoji-san! Let's get some Takoyaki! I know where to get some!"

---

Ryoji blinked several times at the happy Maiko as they sat on a bench in the Iwatodai Station District. There was just no way that much food could fit in such a little girl.

"Where do you put it all?" he commented before clamping down on his tongue.

Not the smartest thing to say to a female, little girl or otherwise.

"What?" Maiko said, her voice raising.

Expecting a verbal lashing, Ryoji already prepared his wince and his apologies, so he was rather surprised when he ended up hopping on one foot, and his shin was in pain.

"Meanie!" Maiko said before continuing to eat her takoyaki.

"Sorry…ha ha."

Maiko pointed at Ryoji.

"For that…you have to play with me longer," she replied with a smile before looking at her empty box. "More takoyaki please!"

---

It was almost evening at the shrine.

"Maiko! Get away from him!" a shrill voice screamed.

Ryoji turned around and met a faceful of purse. One of those cashmere ones, he noted, as he fell to the ground from surprise. Oddly enough, the blow didn't hurt at all, but he, at the time, wasn't too aware of that fact. All he knew was that some lady decided to smack him in the face with a purse.

Maiko was at his side though, looking at him worriedly.

"Mom! Don't hit him!" Maiko yelled as she was pulled away from him.

"You don't even know him. He's trouble!" her mother screeched.

"At least I don't hit strangers in the face with a purse," Ryoji mumbled as he went up to his feet.

"Yeah…you probably do it with a bat! Stay away from my daughter or I'll call the cops on you!" she screamed as she dragged a crying Maiko along. She glared at her daughter saying, "You shouldn't associate with such ruffians!"

Ryoji rolled his eyes as she left the shrine, grumbling incoherently about crazy women. After hearing the sound of a car screech and drive off, he slowly descended the stairs to find a crumpled curious sheet of paper still left.

The handwriting was horrible, barely legible, but he was able to read…

"M – S. Cram school Sunday. –Maiko."

Looking at the back of the paper, he blanched and then chuckled.

"**Terrible luck.**"

---

**Shirakawa Boulevard – 11:00 pm – December 5****th**** 2008**

It was too much of a risk to go to Paulownia Mall on a Saturday since it was inevitable that one of the SEES members might be there. However, it was doubtful that any of them would go to Shirakawa Boulevard…which was a pity…since there were some decent restaurants in the area.

The Majestic was one of them. It was a three-star restaurant, true, but they did make the best rice balls in the area. He devoured another one as he looked up into the sky, into the light pollution.

He was starving now since he was cleaned out by Maiko and didn't even have money to pay for himself…and the Takoyaki lady didn't accept credit. He smiled at thinking of the rather fun day…though the conclusion made him sigh in exasperation.

"Ryoji-kun, something got ya down?" the brunette waitress, Hotaru, asked as she passed another plate of rice balls to him. She wore an actual maid fuku which was actually unique since most of the "maid costumes" usually were highly...revealing.

"No. No. It's nothing! Ha ha. I got shot down again," Ryoji smiled. He technically did.

"Again? Was it that Aigis again? Or Yukari? I could set her straight if you want," she grinned.

"Nah, no need, no need," he held his hands up, shaking, "It was someone else…" His smile turned mischievious, "Anyways, wanna go out tonight?"

"Ryoji!" She swatted him lightly in the back of the head "I already have a boyfriend!" she giggled.

He held both hands to his heart, gasping, "Shot down again! My poor heart," before smiling, "Ah well. I think I'll pay for the food now."

"Three thousand yen, but since you're cute when you're disheveled, I'll make it two thousand."

He smiled as he received the receipt, looking at the tip section with a smile and giving it back to Hotaru.

Hotaru twitched, saying, "I thought I said two thousand yen…"

"If you're giving me a discount cause I'm cute, I have to at least raise it to account for your beauty."

"My beauty's worth only three thousand yen?" she pouted before raising her hands, "Just kidding. Just kidding."

"I'd pay more…but I like to eat. See ya later…" Ryoji's eyes glazed as he looked at the girl, "Midnight's just around the corner."

The girl suddenly became a coffin.

He blinked and looked at his Rolex which stopped a second before midnight. He grumbled, holding his head, "Damn it. Should've left earlier…now I have to sit here for an hour."

"December sucks."


	5. Chance Meetings

A/N: Sorry for not updating this. . Studying for finals sucked. Taking them was worse. I'll try hard to keep up with the backlog. Thank you for your patience.

---

----

**December 6****th**** 2008 **

_---_

"_Are you awake yet, sleepyhead?" said a female voice._

_Mm…he didn't want to wake up. The covers were warm and the pillow was soft. Eyes peeked out at the clock. It was only seven in the morning. He didn't want to wake up early today. It was a Sunday. No one sane wakes up this early. He closed his eyes once more._

"_I saw your eyes open! Wake up! Wake up!"_

_He felt his body being shaken, but he still defiantly stayed in the covers. That is, until he felt fingers in his armpits._

"_You asked for it, brat!"_

"_HAHAHAAHAA…stop…HAHA….it…I'll….HAHAHAHA….WAKE UP!!!" Eyes were squeezed tight from laughter, his body trying to squirm away from the fingers._

"_You're not out of bed!" Fingers continue their onslaught._

_Falling off and away from the tickling fingers, he slowly started to open his eyes. It was ridiculously bright, the type of bright that ended up giving spots in one's eyes. However, he could make up the Eyes suddenly opened to a small bedroom with the electronic clock reading 7:01 am. The floor was cool to the touch and made of some expensive wood_

"_Are you okay?" said the female voice behind him. _

"_Haha. I'm fine…" he said. _

_Turning around, he caught trophies of some sort standing on top of a dresser. He even caught the small casket of laundry before turning over to the one that was calling him. He looked up to see the woman's face…_

_---_

_---  
_

**December 6****th**** 2008 – Shirakawa Boulevard**

Ryoji woke up with a start, the blares of his alarm clock and the large knocks on the door.

"YOUR FUCKING ALARM IS TOO FUCKING LOUD, FUCKER!" said a loud obnoxious male voice.

Another voice was behind the door, definitely female, and it seemed to be pleading.

Placing his head into the pillow to drown out both the sound, he took solace in the fact that the man was not getting inside anytime soon. Even if he lived in the decent part of Shirakawa Boulevard, it still drew the unsavory types that roamed around Shirakawa past midnight. That's why the apartment installed rather sturdy wooden doors with a metal core to prevent intrusion.

If he stayed quiet, he'd go away eventually. He wasn't too enthused in dealing with an angry asshole when the alarm just started ringing five minutes ago…and it was only going to last another ten minutes anyways.

Ryoji mumbled through the loud yells, "Someone's impatient…" before looking over at the electronic clock. The knocking only seemed to get louder though to the point where it was ticking him off. Turning off the alarm, he was granted a moment of reprieve from the noise.

"NOW GET OUT HERE FUCKER, SO WE CAN MEET FACE TO FACE!"

Ryoji sighed with the increasingly loud idiot and stuck his head back under the pillow. Obscenities continued to resonate through the air.

The voice continued to yell for a bit until it started trailing away, but the man still released one final faint yell.

"Shithead! Don't wanna face me like a man."

Biting his tongue, Ryoji resisted from saying anything. The man probably had a gun or something.

Wait a moment…he…couldn't actually die… at least, he couldn't die through mortal means. Why the hell was he so scared about?

A small pang of pain from his sore shin from the little girl yesterday provided his answer. He might be able to cheat death, but he'd rather not feel pain like any normal non-masochistic human being. Ryoji sat up from his bed, his mind immediately shifting to the girl's mother whacking him in the face with a purse. It must've been extremely soft since he didn't feel pain from that at all.

Almost as if he nulled it…

He shook his head several times at the absurd thought. The bag was probably extremely soft. Why the heck was he thinking about things that caused him pain earlier anyways? The man is gone which meant his current problem was gone. All that he needed to do was to decide on WHAT to do.

It was a Sunday which meant that any of the local spots was out of the question since SEES is very likely to be present there. That meant no Paulownia Mall, no eating at the strip mall, no prodding the cat he met behind Port Island…However, he didn't want to stay inside either like one of those "cripples" who stare at their computer and type up chapters for their stories trying to keep up with his promise of one chapter per day. No, he certainly didn't want to be like that.

How could he have fun and virtually guarantee that he wouldn't see any of _them_ today?

His face turned thoughtful for a moment until a wide smile lit his face.

He then bolted out of the door.

----

----

**December 6****th**** 2008 – Train Station to Kyoto?**

He was receiving really weird looks from people today. He was wearing his pajamas. Big deal.

Sure, the pajamas were black and white like an escaped convict, but he was obviously too handsome to look like a criminal. Maybe, a magnificent bastard or an 'antihero', but not a run-of-the-mill disposable minion convict. He frowned at another mother telling their child to stop staring at the 'crazy kid.'

"I'm not crazy!" he yelled back.

His comment only resulted in the mother pulling their child away from him, and other people started looking at him even more warily. He stared at himself and sighed, waiting on line for a ticket to Kyoto. Another confused-looking person left the ticket stand with…oddly enough…a pretzel in his hands. The man was mumbling to himself about going to a different line.

The line was ridiculously long too. It almost stretched from one end to another, but it would be worth it. He was able to leave to go to Kyoto before, so he could probably do it again. The unique food there, the hot springs, and the girls were all waiting for him. All he needed was the golden ticket which was apparently being held by a purple-claded man wearing a tophat. Ryoji rose an eyebrow at the man's attire with his purple trenchcoat, though a 'WW' could be seen sewn on the bottom.

Why were people staring at him again?

He stared back at the line and ran forward, the line suddenly moving fast. Abnormally fast. He blinked several times as he felt suddenly pushed forward by an invisible force, and he could finally see the reason. There seemed to be a crank of gears and the person in front of the line suddenly vanishing into oblivion.

Three people.

Two people.

One….who just fell into a hole that randomly appeared in the floor. HOLY SHIT, HE WAS NEXT.

The invisible force continued pulling him towards the ticket counter, but a familiar female voice rang out.

"Ahh…Ryoji-san, this job is extremely boring. Can't you think of other things for a job when you're out cold next time?""

Elizabeth. In front of a giant lever inside the ticket counter.

"How the hell did you get here?" he blurted out before saying, "And what do you mean out cold?"

"That information will come on its own time, but I need to tell you this now. You cannot leave Port Island and Iwatodai. You leave, your existence vanishes until December 31st."

"Wait what? Why can't I leave?"

"Tartarus is your anchor. Leaving from your anchor will cause you to disappear."

"…this sucks,"

Elizabeth smiled cheerfully. "I agree… It really sucks to be you!"

A vein twitched in his head before he added, "and you couldn't tell me before I left the Velvet Room?"

"You would've figured it out eventually if reality came to pass." She looked up and put a finger on her chin, adding, "The only reason why I changed my mind was that Igor-sama stated that you probably weren't the type to wallow away in self-pity."

He frowned at Elizabeth's perception of his character before a look of thoughtfulness passed on his face, "Why do you keep stating that this isn't reality?"

"Why do you keep questioning me when I state that it's not reality?"

A bland stare was Ryoji's only reply.

"Fine, fine…I'll show you." Her grin turned malicious. "Bye, Ryoji-san!"

"Bye? What are yo-"

The ground disappeared from under him, and gravity went to work.

"Craaaaaaaaaaaaa-"

---

---

**December 6****th**** 2008 – Shirakawa Boulevard Penthouse Hallway – 3:00pm**

Ryoji's eyes opened to find the ceiling lined with multiple light bulbs. Gasping and making sure that he wasn't impaled by large spikes, he was surprised to find that he was in the hallway…his penthouse door still ajar.

Staring through the crack of the ajar door and out the window, he was even more surprised and extremely annoyed to see that his clock had read three o'clock pm. However, the more distressing issue was the man right next to him that smelled of liquor and feet. His eyes were rolled up in his head, and though he was breathing, he definitely did not look too good. It looked like someone had bashed his nose in….and his bleeding hand…one finger almost did a three-sixty…looked completely mangled.

The man looked like he was twenty…and ugly. He was ugly. Of course, the fact his nose seemed cracked in two places could be the reason why said man was now ugly. The blood didn't help either.

Ryoji felt slightly guilty about entertaining the thought, but it looked almost like the man bashed himself in the face for whatever reason.

It was awfully convenient though that he would pass out, and this man would suddenly appear in front of him. Wait a second…

---

_Ryoji's hand opened the door._

"_Kyoto with the beautif-" he exclaimed.  
_

_A fist suddenly materialized into his face, and he knew no more._

---

He stared at the man with a more critical eye. Maybe he could just leave him here…and wait for someone to pick him up…like Death. He winced at making the rather ironic joke, slowly taking out the phone from his pocket and dialing in numbers.

"Hello, this is Port Island Emergency Services."

"There's a man outside of my door…it looked like he punched himself in the face and is out cold outside of my apartment."

"Excuse me?"

"There's a man outside of my door…and it looked like he punched himself in the face till he was unconscious?"

"Yes, sir, I caught that…may I please have your location, and can you stay in your room until they arrive?"

"Thank you…I live in Shir….

---

---

**December 6****th**** 2008 – 6:00 pm- Paulownia Mall Police Station**

"And so…I end up seeing you again …"

Ryoji chuckled nervously, saying, "At least I'm not asleep this time or in the subway…"

Kurosawa sat from behind the desk, pinching the bridge of his nose to avoid a bigger headache. "And you are here telling me that the man punched himself in the face to the point of shattering his nose and his fingers."

"Uhh…that's what I think happened. It looked like it…"

"Quite frankly, I think that's bullshit. We have his girlfriend at the hospital stating that he was outside your door wanting to talk with you at that time."

"…really?" Ryoji struggled to keep his face straight free from outrage, "I did hear someone outside my door, complaining about my alarm clock…but I chose to stay inside since I'm not a fan of getting my ass kicked."

"And therefore, in order to relieve his boredom, he punches himself in the face enough to give himself a facial reconstruction," Kurosawa added sarcastically.

…

"Or maybe he interrupted somebody's nap. I heard my next-door neighbor has some psychic power to manipulate people to cause themselves pain," Ryoji supplied. If he was stuck deep in a ditch, he might as well be entertained while driving himself deeper into it.

Strangely enough though, Kurosawa somewhat paled at the remark before actually seemed to be contemplating it for a moment. Just for a moment though….his serious demeanor was back almost immediately.

"There's something you're not telling me…" Kurosawa's eyes shifted to three pictures on his desk, a girl with red hair, some blue-haired kid with glasses, and a guy that looked like from that Christianity religion albeit more tattooed, "but other than circumstantial evidence, I can't see how you could be the cause of this since it is definitely certain that his fist caused the damage to his face."

"You're free to go."

"Thank god! What a waste of a day!" Ryoji exclaimed.

"Don't let me see you in here again or I'm going to give you your long-overdue ticket for loitering in the subway next time…with interest."

"Yes, Kurosawa-san. I'll be good…heh heh."

"Oh and kid, please choose a better set of pajamas. You honestly look like some deranged lunatic that prowls around people's bedrooms at night."

Ryoji laughed hysterically.

---

---

**December 6****th**** 2008 – Club Escapade – 6:30 pm**

Ryoji slowly sat down on a seat in the corner, eyes on the pretty girls that were dancing the night away. Of course, there was a not-so-pretty one next to one, but the pretty ones still had curves swaying…bouncing…and one just turned his way.

Giving a jaunty wave, the girl visibly twitched and motioned over her friends…whom then started pointing to him and whispering. From the creeped-out giggles that were still audible even with the music, Ryoji knew that he was probably shut down.

It wasn't his fault that he was wearing pajamas and the state of his hair was utterly messy. It was the policemen, the ugly man, and…Elizabeth. He was sure that it was Elizabeth's fault. Evil, pretty, psychotic, cute Elizabeth. Of course, he knew that he couldn't blame the entire thing on her. Somehow, he knew that whatever happened to that man…involved him. There was something weird going on, and he couldn't figure it out.

Movement caught his attention, and Ryoji sighed , watching the group of girls go out of the club.

There was really nothing to do, and the only reason he was here was to avoid any SEES members. Honestly, Mitsuru and Yukari were obviously too uptight and proper to come here. Aigis…

Ryoji shook his head before kicking the empty chair opposite of him. He slowly took a deep breath and let it out.

Minato and Akihiko weren't club people…and quite frankly, Junpei probably has no chance at picking up a date to come here…that and dancing was not his thing. He was safe at Club Escapade for now.

"Kid."

"Kid."

"Hey, I'm talking to you, kid! Come here!"

Ryoji turned his head away from the table to the bartender calling for him from across the dance floor. Ryoji pointed at himself which received an irritated eye-roll and nod. Walking through the dancers, Ryoji found himself sitting on a seat at the table with the bartender across.

"Are you cosplaying an escaped convict or something because your costume looks old and crappy."

Ryoji pretended to look thoughtful.

"Hmm…thanks for giving me the id- I mean…that's right…this is a cosplay costume!"

A visible sweatdrop appeared from the bartender's head before she chuckled, saying, "I knew it was." She turned a woman on the seat next to her, "Anyways, I got the kid you wanted, Mama-san. Tell me if you need anything."

"Thank you," Mama replied. The brunette with her dark sunglasses adjusted herself so she was facing Ryoji. It almost seemed like she was staring right through him rather than actually looking at him. The quiet pause though was unnerving, and Ryoji felt like he should say something.

"Uhh…I'm not interested in older women…"

'Mama' chuckled while the bartender started cackling with laughter though she, to her credit, tried to muffle it with a dishwasher rag over her mouth.

"I didn't call you over because of that…" Another chuckle escaped her lips before she added, "However, it seems that you don't recognize it yet. Come back here tomorrow."

"What? Why in the world should I come here tomorrow? And what's this 'it' that you're talking about?" Ryoji replied incredulously.

"I'm sorry. I cannot say anything more. Please come here tomorrow. There's nothing for you to do anymore today…"

"I think I'm just going to stay actu-"

The words that came from behind him though caused his face to pale.

"Minato-kun, you're back!" A girl squealed out.

Almost immediately, Ryoji hopped over the bar which resulted in the bartender sending him an incredulous look. However, she stayed silent though she kept looking at 'Mama' with something that looked like awe and respect in her eyes.

---

The girl and Minato were having their conversation though.

"Hey…by any chance, have you seen Mutatsu around?"

"That old pig? I haven't seen him around since you guys last talked."

"He isn't a bad person." Minato's voice had an edge to it.

"Really? It seemed like he was since he was angry and drunk all the time."

---

Ryoji's eavesdropping though was interrupted by 'Mama' who said, "The exit's down that door at the end and to the right. Go get some sleep."

Right after she said that, Ryoji immediately bolted out unnoticed by the patrons, disappearing from sight.

The bartender looked over at Mama, "I'm going to figure you out one day...you even knew the directions to the emergency exit."

Mama simply smiled, saying, "More red wine, please."

---


	6. Creating a List, Not Checking It Twice

A\N: Oh dear….I've seemed to have acquired P4 today, December 13th. _. NOOOOO! MUST RESIST PLAYING IT. WAaaaaaRGABBBBLEEEEEEEEE!!!! DX

Oh, does anyone want to suggest on how to separate sections in my stories? I don't think ---, --- is adequate. _

--

--

**December 7****th**** 2008 **

"_You look good, son." _

_Ryoji continued staring at a mirror which didn't show his face, though he could tell that he was much shorter if the floating mini-tuxedo he wore was any indication. He frowned though._

"_This thing is choking me." He continued pulling on his tie, trying to get it off his neck. However, a hand on his shoulder stopped him, and Ryoji stared back into the mirror and realized that his father didn't have a face either. There was the black tuxedo suit and a red bowtie, but anywhere that was supposed to be showing skin…showed nothing. _

"_Your mother would yell at us if you took it off," he whispered to which Ryoji blanched._

"_But…can't you loosen it just a little bit…" _

"_Fine…but don't tell your mother alright?" _

_Ryoji let out a relaxed breath, the choking sensation reduced. He turned around and looked at his 'father,' still faceless yet there was an outline of his body…much like those creepy-looking mannequins. _

"_Why do I have to go?" Ryoji whined._

"_It's for work…and the boss said that he wanted to meet our families," the man smiled. Or at least Ryoji thought he did. It was strange…he knew his father smiled somehow without seeing it._

"_But I dun wanna goooo!"_

"_Sorry, son. When you get older, you'll understand why I'm doing this." His father contemplated for a bit before adding, "Oh yeah, if you see a redhead your age, be extra polite to her alright?"_

"_Why?"_

"_Sh-" his father stopped and then shattered like glass. The room soon followed suit._

_---_

_---  
_

"_Go fish."_

"_Pharos. There's no cards in the deck," Minato sighed as he sat up on his bed. "You have the cards in your hand."_

_Pharos happily smiled, saying "No,I don't!" With a twist of his hand, the cards were gone._

_Minato palmed his face, a sigh of frustration leaving his lips. _

"_You really need to stop doing that. Junpei's been looking at me funny every single time I bring him a deck with three or four cards shorter in it," Minato sighed before lying back on his bed with the child sitting at the other end. _

"_Sorry! Can't bring them back!" Pharos stated before looking out the window, a depressed look entering his eyes._

"_Umm…sorry. I have to go for tonight…but your ordeal's in a week from now…"he whispered, adding with a sad smile,"I wish you luc-"_

_---_

_---  
_

"_Where's Ryoji-kun? Where's Ryoji-kun?"a female voice sang in the background._

_Shit. Shit. Shit. Ryoji continued running, finding another fork in the grass hedges and turned right. He was a rat in a maze with no way out._

"_Ryoji-kun….I'm going to find yooouuuu…."_

_His lungs felt like they were going to explode. He was running for so long now, away from the crazed girl trying to get him. His face blanched when he ran directly into the thorn hedge. Removing a thorn from his face, Ryoji's legs collapsed as he realized that this was truly a dead end._

_Was his life going to end like this?_

_After avoiding knives, scalpels, large explosions, and some sort of thing that looked like two fingers moving towards his ass, he was going to die here. No. He wasn't going to die here…with his resolution in his head, he turned around to meet his tormenter, the evil purple-claded villain._

"_Ah, there you are…I was starting to think you didn't like me." Her fingers twirled around a card…and basing on which she used last…._

_Crap. He needed to make his last stand now._

"_I'm going to show you my power, evil villain!" Suddenly, he felt empowered, the air around him filled with a shiny glowing aura. He could swear that he heard someone in the background say 'His hair turned yeller."_

"_Take this!" He moved to attack her._

"_Masakado…"_

_Something bright dropped from the sky…_

"_Dam-"_

_---_

_---_

**December 7****th**** 2008 – Shirakawa Boulevard – 11:00 am**

Ryoji shot out of his bed and then collapsed onto the floor with a thunk.

"Oof."

Scanning the room to make sure that he wasn't still dreaming, he found solace in the fact that everything appeared normal. His big-screen television was in the right place. His small kitchen was also the same. Staring at the clock, he frowned when it read "11:00 am", realizing that he forgot to actually turn the alarm back on.

Sighing as he slowly went over to his cabinet and pulled out a cup, he filled it with water before sticking it in the microwave. He brought his hand on his body to make sure he was in one piece before trying to recall what he was dreaming before.

There was the dream that he just came out of with that girl being the evil antagonist again. Honestly, was it his mind that was creating these dreams or did she just take a sadistic pleasure in tormenting him? It was probably a combination of the two.

"ELIZABETH, YOU'RE EVIL."

He was secretly glad that he received no reply except for the yell from downstairs which replied with a "Keep it down up there!"

"Sorry!" he replied before taking the water out of the microwave and pouring it into a cup of instant ramen. It definitely wasn't to his liking, and normally he'd avoid eating something as crappy as instant ramen, but the places he frequented for food weren't open until later at night and he had no leftovers.

Honestly, instant ramen smelled nice but tasted like cardboard. He frowned at the deceptive-smelling food as his thoughts wandered back to his dreams. He was quite sure that the one before his Elizabeth-going-to-kill-him dream was a memory. He did remember playing goldfish with Minato, and he laughed. Even when he was a kid, he was too stubborn to lose. Maybe that's why he constantly asked out the likes of Mitsuru and Yukari despite the fact that they've spurned his advances every single time.

However, the first dream made him extremely curious. That was definitely a memory as well; a strange one, but it was still a memory. That feeling of warmth and security was something that he knew was a parent's love. It did warm him inside, but that part of his dream seemed to be connected to the one he had yesterday…the one he had before it was interrupted by Mr. Pseudo-masochist. A vindicated smile lit his lips at the thought; the man received his just desserts.

His stomach growled, and Ryoji dug in.

---

---

**Hagakure - Iwatodai Station – 2:00 p.m.**

He found himself at Hagakure with a stationary and pencil after eating that disgusting pile of cup ramen. Honestly, it tasted worse than when Junpei dared him to eat Akihiko-senpai's "protein" crap. Needless to say, Ryoji disposed of every cup ramen within his penthouse, making sure that if he found himself desperate to eat, he would NOT find one of those cups again.

Watching a steaming pile of REAL ramen placed in front of him, Ryoji dug in viciously, having not eaten in a while. He didn't eat dinner last night since he pretty much ran from Paulownia Mall to Port Island and then Port Island to his home…seized by panic that Minato or anyone else would see him. Right now, he kinda found his reaction to be rather stupid. Extremely stupid…even though it was likely that Minato would've recognized him since he did look like an older, poorly-dressed Pharos.

He blinked several times before mumbling and writing, "Get new pajamas."

His list was small right now, but he'll put more on it eventually.

His stomach growled again, and he returned to his food. Food first, list later.

---

---

**Bookworms Store – 4:00 p.m.**

Patting his full stomach and his now-completed list, Ryoji felt pretty accomplished for today which was an achievement since all he felt was that he was lazing about. Normally, he would like lazing about…but to laze about for twenty-eight days was just pathetic.

He had twenty-eight days before he 'died,' and there was no use angsting about it like those BL shows that he caught Yukari watching (and was subsequently threatened with a beating if it got out…which he did when he stated that it sounded kinky). But yeah, he wasn't the type to mope about. There was too many things to do NOW than to just sit and moap. He had to get through this list before twenty-eight days.

Just reading the first page seemed almost like work, but it would be so worth it…of course, after he tested a couple of things.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The List of Things to Do – 1st Page

"_Jump out of a plane."_

"_Jump out of a car."_

"_Jump out of a train."_

"_Jump onto a train." _

"_Jump onto a plane."_

"_Eat every single piece of cuisine on Port Island and Iwatodai (minus Fuuka's cooking)"_

"_Find the cat a good home."_

"_Play superhero!"_

"_Talk and defeat Elizabeth! DX"_

"_Let's think positive…saying that came from Junpei which apparently came from Minato."_

"_Find the faces of the people in my dreams. I'm sure they're real"_

"_Relive childhood memories with Maiko…err..that sounds creepy."_

"_FIND DRUNK !!!"_

"_Help get revenge on Mr. President Tanaka person."_

"_Read as much manga as I can. I needs to finish Naruto. _"_

"_Get every drink from every vending machine and do…something."_

"_Learn and play Mahjong!"_

_----------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Ryoji frowned and crossed out 'Read as much manga as I can.' He shouldn't be idling about. He should constantly be trying to do stuff on this list. He remembered something from the other day though, and he immediately added it to his list.

That would be the first thing he would do…though it isn't actually opened yet.

Looking for something to pass the time, he found his answer in the form of the good-smelling good-tasting hot bowl of ramen. Motioning over to the waitress, he simply said, "Give me everything that you have."

"Excuse me?"

"I want everything on this menu. Now."

"What? Do y-"

"Hurry up! Hurry up! I don't have time! I can pay for everything!"

"We can't just do that! We have oth-"

"Pleeeeaaassseeeeee. If you can't get me all of it at once, can you start me off wi-"

---

---

**Hagakure – Iwatodai Station – 7:00 pm**

People just paled all around him. The chef in front of the counter seemed especially disturbed.

"That's…not possible," the chef said as he continued frying stuff from the 'secret menu' that most customers shouldn't even know about. Honestly, if this kid spent enough money to allow him to pay his shop's rent for two or three months, his eyes spun with dollar signs at thinking about having both this kid with his yellow scarf and Ryoji frequenting his restaurant.

Ryoji just patted his full stomach and the two stacks of bowls that seemed to pack all the way to the ceiling as he mumbled, "I think I'm pretty full," and coughed several times…the mass of food compressing his lungs. He staggered a bit as he walked, "Can I have the rest to go please?"

The chef just nodded his head. The kid just kept giving his credit card every single time he got another dish. He knew that the kid could pay for what he bought which was the only reason why he didn't scoff when he ordered the seventh or the eighth or the thirtieth bowl.

After placing the newest of the food into a bag, Ryoji just fell down on his face, his feet refusing to support him.

"Can someone please call a taxi for me please?"

---

---

**Club Escapade - Paulownia - Mall – 9:00 pm**

Two taxi rides, a train ride, and a painfully arduous walk, Ryoji found himself in the interior of Club Escapade, looking for Mama who was sitting in the same seat like the day before. Sitting down next to her, Ryoji waited for a response until he decided to break the silence.

"Yoo hoo. Is there anyone there?"

She turned around with a start, staring at Ryoji with her dark sunglasses once more. Again, he got the sense that she was looking through him rather than at him.

"Sorry about that. And you are?"

Wait a second, why the hell was she looking for him when she didn't even know his name?

"Ryoji. And why were you looking for me the other day?"

"I told you. I have something to give you, but…you still don't seem to have 'it' yet. How odd."

"What's this 'it' you keep talking about?"

"I cannot say," Mama gave a reassuring smile. Honestly, this lady seemed like she was related to Elizabeth or Igor, never giving a straight answer. She adjusted the glasses on her face before turning over to the bartender, saying, "More wine please."

"Honestly, sometimes I think your blood has more alcohol than there is blood," the same female bartender said from the night before, "What's the glass number now? Fifteen?"

"I think I'm going to go now…" Ryoji said as he turned around and started walking.

"Wait. You dropp-…Oh." Mama said. In her hands was HIS list. She was looking at the folded piece of paper with curiosity, not actually opening it before placing it on the bar table. "Never mind then, I never realized…'it' is not truly a part of you. It's separate from you like this paper."

She waved him closer, and Ryoji's curiosity got the better of him, making him move forward. Her hand went through her coat, pulling out a small envelope from her pockets and placing it on top of his list. "Please don't open this until you're back home. That is all I ask."

"Why?"

"Do it as a favor to me."

"How? You just randomly give me some envelope and I'm supposed to trust you and 'do you a favor'? It could be anthrax for all I know?" Ryoji did trust her for some odd reason though, but he wanted something concrete. Some reason from her that she'll provide in order to cement his trust.

The slap to his face was oddly expected but it came from a not-expected source. The look in the bartender's eyes seemed almost livid, pissed.

"Don't you dare speak ill of her again. She's a good person and you know it too," the other woman said before placing her hand down. Strangely, his cheek was burning. Must've got off easy.

"You'll know whether or not I'm trustworthy when you get home," Mama mysteriously replied before taking another sip of her glass.

Ryoji frowned at the answer but still took the small envelope and his list with him, leaving Club Escapade.

---

---

**Shirakawa Boulevard – 10:00 pm**

Two taxi rides and a train ride later, Ryoji found himself back in his quaint little penthouse with an envelope, a list, and a whole lot of Hagakure Ramen. He should probably send a giftcard to Kenji for Christmas honestly. Heh heh.

He turned over to look at the envelope with a suspicious look in his eyes before shrugging and tearing the top open. The envelope originally felt heavy, so there was something metallic in it, but he was rather surprised at the contents.

It was a key, a simple key used to open those extremely archaic doors. He could swear there was a bluish, maybe a purple, tint to the key, but it could just be a trick with the light. Why the hell would the woman give him such a key? Looking over at the clock and the fact that all that food made him tired, he slowly got into his pajamas, which he noted that he'll eventually stow away, and went to bed.


	7. Changall Cafe

A/N: Sadly, this story will not be completed on December 31st on account of acquiring P4. Yes, I played it. Yes, I'm now addicted to it for now. So…please be patient. This chapter will also probably be rewritten later.

Thank you for those who've read this story so far.

**----**

**----**

**December 7****th**** 2008 **

"_Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!",_

_The world rocked back and forth over and over again. He suddenly went to the top of the world, to the bottom, and then up again. The shrine looked smaller from so high as well as the slide and the jungle gym._

"_Higherrr!"_

_He felt a warm pressure on his back before he suddenly went higher than he was before. He knew the woman behind him was smiling._

_---_

_---_

**December 7****th**** 2008 – Port Island Station – 10:00 a.m.**

"We have now arrived at Port Island Station. Please exit out of the tram at this time."

Ryoji yawned as he stared out of the tram window and into the great expanse of water outside. He staggered to go out of the tram, having failed the first time and needing to take the ride back again. People were looking at him funny since he honestly looked like some drunk teenagers playing hooky from school, but he didn't care for the moment.

Right now, he was caring about the pain in his stomach, the pain of eating too much. Maybe he shouldn't have eaten so much at Hagakure the other day or ate all of the 'take-out' he received at breakfast.

Today, he woke up bright and early in order to have fun today. Of course, the odd-shaped key was still in his mind from the other day, but he shook it off as an eccentric item given by an eccentric woman. For all he knew, she wanted to get into his pants…because he was just that sexy. Snickering at the random thought, he returned back to pondering the question that was in his mind, the subject of pain.

He's experienced it before, many times actually in both his memory and his conscious reality, but he noticed that times he should experience pain never happened. First, it was the woman smacking him in the face with a purse, the other was the man who 'punched' him in the face, and finally the woman that slapped him. That slap was LOUD, but it didn't even leave a welt.

Comparing to the times that he actually did feel pain, it was rather small like Maiko and Yukari stomping on his foot. There had to be a connection between times he would actually feel pain and times he wouldn't but what. Before, he thought it could possibly be based on pain severity, but having never experienced those sharp pains before, he couldn't really make that assessment…and it would just be terribly unwise to test it by shooting or stabbing himself in the leg which he knew, on TV, that it would hurt.

Now why was he thinking about the subject of pain? He was actually quite interested in playing the part of saving the-damsel-in-distress…and he also liked the "Superman" comics, some foreign comics, which Junpei showed him. He doubted he could fly, but he could very well resist bullets and all that jazz which would be awesome. It was just a plan-in-progress though since he was still worried that he might be wounded and having to deal with intense pain for the rest of his days.

Not his idea of fun.

So, instead, he was doing something safer than stuffing oneself with food till one pops or jumping out of vehicular units. He was going to Mandragora to get some singing in while the rest of the SEES members were at school. Having never sang karaoke, he was just curious on what drew the other students there.

This was going to be fun!

---

---

**Paulownia Mall – 3:00 p.m.**

That was definitely not fun at all.

He did not like being pulled out of the booth by two large burly guys and, though his money was refunded, did not like the receptionist appearing as though she would never be happy again. It was fun before then, but that event just made it suck altogether.

---

"_You maaaakeee mee feeeeeeeel. You maaaaakee meeee feeeeeel."_

_Ryoji continued singing through the microphone, amused by the words on the video that indicated him to sing those lyrics. It was rather relaxing, having sang a few hours. The two security guards popped in and out, staring at him with disbelief which cemented Ryoji's belief that he could possibly be the next Japanese idol. The receptionist looked like she ate something sour though._

_When he called her on it, she just said nothing before placing a pair of earphones on. _

_So now he was trying to do the high-pitched songs. One of them was from a traditional opera, and he was reaching near the end. _

"_Ooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah."_

_Several things happened. The sound of something shattering filled his ears, followed by the receptionist girl's scream. He continued trying to keep the high note. Next, the glass at the far end of the table started to vibrate before a large visible crack appeared in it. Ryoji continued the high note._

_Honestly, they should really use better quality materials if the ones they have now would just randomly break like that. While he was distracted, the receptionist girl suddenly covered his mouth, and he felt a pair of arms around his shoulders._

"_SHUT THE HELL UP ALREADY," the girl said which shocked Ryoji enough that he indeed stopped._

_The guards looked relieved._

"_Here's your money back. Don't ever come here again!" she said before motioning to the two officers to take him back to the center of Paulownia Mall. _

_---_

The girl was probably jealous of his singing ability and didn't want to nurture. That could only possibly be the reason why she was sad and mopey, or it could be her cracked laptop screen…but she shouldn't have damaged it like that if she didn't want it broken.

So now, he didn't really have anything planned for today. He didn't want to go talk to 'Mama' today since her gift suddenly creeped him out. It could possibly be a key to her old Victorian home where she will put him in chains and with a feat- Ryoji blinked several times and coughed. He wasn't interested in older women…and definitely not interested in a person called 'Mama.'

Staring at Changall Café, Ryoji smiled and walked to the warm-looking place. It definitely smelled like coffee, and he always wanted to try new foods. Maybe Changall Café might actually have good food.

---

---

**Changall Café – 3:05 pm**

"And…hello everyone!" Ryoji smiled and exclaimed to the very few people inside. All of them didn't look too well, and Ryoji could easily put them in the acne-ridden and excessive body odor section of his head. Nervously stepping away from the stares of these people, Ryoji slowly walked up to the counter where a tired depressed-looking man sat.

The man turned his head to Ryoji and put a forced smile on, saying, "Welcome to Changall…I'm Changall. May I take your order?"

"Uhh…what's your speciality?"

That response just made Changall look at Ryoji as though he was stupid.

"Didn't you read the sign? Pheromone coffee is our speciality. A cup full of pheromones to increase your charm with the ladies."

"Really?" Ryoji asked. He could always use more charm. The man's eyes looked pained before he said defeatedly.

"No, not really. I only said that cause this café is failing. The stuff my suppliers gave us doesn't really work, and I spent a lot of money on it."

"Oh…why'd you tell me that though?" Something in his pocket was turning warm strangely enough.

"Dunno really. Maybe I just feel guilty telling you about it. More impersonal if you guys just read the sign outside and ask for coffee."

This conversation honestly was making Ryoji uncomfortable, and he said, "I see…Umm…could I just have coffee with milk and sugar?"

"Yeah, I'll be back in a minute…"

Changall slowly moved back towards the counter, leaving Ryoji alone to take out something from his back pocket. He blinked several times at the small, strangely warm, key in his hands.

He grumbled, "Thought I left this at home…" before placing the abnormally warm key back into his pocket.

Eyes slowly scanned the rest of Changall, noting that it was rather empty despite all the chairs and tables in the area.

"Got your drink, kid."

"Huh? Oh, thanks." He wanted to ask on why the café was failing, but it felt rather rude to say so…and yet…there was an odd warmth spreading through him from his back pocket. Trust your instincts was usually the way that Ryoji went anyways.

"Why's this café fa-"

"Well, before this café was prestigious since it only served the western drink in all of Port Island…but now…we have to compete with those that can make it even cheaper," the man looked at Ryoji as if sizing him up before adding, "So we decided to add pheromones to the coffee except they don't really work since our suppliers sent us faulty stuff…so now we're stuck…and rumors of our coffee giving people hairs where people don't normally want them aren't helping."

---

'_And Ryoji, Pheromone coffee turns people into hairy apes…and it changes their DNA-thingamajig so they end up barking at the moon at night," Junpei said, looking at the café._

"_Stupei, stop spreading stupid rumors," said Yukari, rolling her eyes._

_---_

Ryoji only nodded to the man before saying, "I see…thanks for the coffee." He paid with a ten, simply saying "Keep the change." The man just bowed his head as Ryoji just sat down on a table, slowly sipping his coffee.

---

**Changall Café – 5:00 pm**

The man wasn't kidding about his café failing. Even past the time where all the students would go out, he only saw three or four students walk inside.

"Wow…and here I thought all cafes were popular," he mumbled, drinking up his twelfth cup of coffee. Decaf, of course. He didn't want to give himself a heart attack. The only people that came in were couples and people who didn't look confident at all. He supposed that they just wanted to try the pheromone coffee…which doesn't really work.

He did think about the man's intentions of using lies to save his store, but he couldn't disagree with his actions because, if the guy did care about his store so much, he would be fighting tooth-and-nail to save it. His thoughts turned to Aigis for a moment, machine she might be, but she was still human…always trying to protect Minato from him…Death. He frowned as he slowly picked up all the empty cups and threw them in the trash, leaving the café…but not before leaving a new mark on his list.

---

---

**Train to Iwatodai – 6:00 pm**

It was official. He would not be jumping off or onto things until he can get a definite boundary on what will cause him pain and what will not. His nose still smarts from crashing face-first into the train as opposed to just entering through the doors of the train.

He wanted to sleep for a bit, but he really didn't know if Officer Kurosawa was joking about sending him to jail…nor did he want to, so he was awake just thinking about things that have past.

Fighting with Aigis.

His dream/memories.

The fact that he only had 24 days left.

He leaned back in the chair and stretched, staring back into the blue expanse, a blue expanse that would be gone with the coming of the Fall. He knew he shouldn't feel excited for it, but he couldn't help himself. His humanity caused him to feel guilt for desiring the Fall, but it also accepted the end.

He wanted SEES to make the right decision, for Minato to make the right decision. He wanted them to never treat as though this would be the last time they would watch the scenery. It was…oddly sad.

He frowned as he stared at a kid fidgeting in front of him. Great, now he's made himself depressed. Time to fix that.

"JUNPEI HAS LEVELED UP! DEDEDE!!" His finger went into the air as his legs stood in a simple stance.

And now the entire train was looking at him weird. The kid in front of him just stared before being pulled back by a parent.

Ryoji's cackles of laughter probably didn't help his situation either.

**---**

**---**

**Shirakawa Boulevard - 9:00 pm**

After getting take-out from the 'odd takoyaki' place and eating it, Ryoji found himself back into bed. He blinked several times though, realizing something and taking his stationary out.

"_Help the café."_

He wrote that down before curling back into the covers.


End file.
